You generally have more success to argue based on facts than emotion. So, let’s lay out the facts on these so-called “assault weapons.”
Brady Campaign, yes they are merely like hunting rifles. Go look at the actual mechanics of the action. Compare and contrast, look at actual firearms… we’ll wait.
And it’s not (just) about hunting. Maybe it’s about keeping my children safe.
While my primary martial arts studies may be in the realm of a traditional empty-hand martial art, I certainly study and regard a wild body of fighting skills. Modern combatives are especially interesting to me, and one system I’m working to learn more about is Tony Blauer’s S.P.E.A.R. System™.
Mr. Blauer’s got a reprint of a nice introductory article to the S.P.E.A.R. concept on his website. Give it a read.
I have found it interesting that, ever since The chOsen One took office and has been addressing The Financial Crisis in America™, the Dow Jones has responded by dropping to new lows every day. He signs something, the Dow responds with a big drop. And yesterday the Dow dropped below 7000. Change you can believe in.
Robb Allen mentions how individuals are responding to the new tax situation. I can’t say I blame people… you work hard, then someone takes the fruit of your labor and flushes it down the toilet. But I guess forking over your hard earned money so people can just piss it away is patriotic now right?
At my previous job I worked with a group of Canadians. I asked them how it was living with socialized medicine, and sure it was there but it was hardly ideal. I recall one of my co-workers telling me how her grandmother spent 3 days on a gurney in a hallway because there weren’t enough rooms.
I also recall my then-boss telling me how the year prior he had paid 52% of his income to taxes. He said it wouldn’t have bugged him so much if it was 49%, but to be able to say that he has to fork over more than half his income to taxes? That was very defeating on morale.
So way to go, folks. This is the change you wanted… let me know how it’s working out for you. It’s sure not working for me.
Updated: Larry Kudlow over at CNBC chimes in on this failure. (h/t to Rob).
A new study was released, Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom by William P. Ruger & Jason Sorens, from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. (h/t to Volokh).
Texas came in 5th overall. Not bad for this freedom-loving soul. Certainly one reason I love to live here and have little desire to leave Texas is because freedoms are pretty good here. There’s room for improvement and of course there are threats to freedom every day… but you just gotta keep vigilant.
I was reading this article this morning that motivated me to finally write on this matter. But it’s a matter that’s been on my mind for some time. I’m not writing on this being a moral or religious issue for me, but rather an issue of freedom.
You see, I used to believe in being “pro-choice,” and in some regards I still do. There is no eliminating abortion from society, so keeping it safe is better than letting it go illegal. Of course, perhaps if it was illegal it might stave things off, but look at how our “War Against Drugs” is working and you’ll realize that being illegal doesn’t really stop things and instead can create a whole host of other problems. But whereas someone consuming drugs ultimately only affects themselves, abortion does directly affect someone else: that unborn child, even if at the time of the abortion it’s little more than a clump of cells. And thus, I still have a lot of inner debate about the issue. There’s moral conflicts, Libertarian conflicts, legal issues, ideal issues, practical issues….
But one thing I can see clearly is infringement upon freedom: this so-called “Freedom of Choice Act”. I fail to see where there’s any freedom of choice. If a doctor is forced to give an abortion on-demand, where is there any freedom of choice for that doctor? If a hospital is forced to provide services that go against their moral and religious backing (many hospitals have religious affiliation) and if they refuse to provide abortion services they lose Federal money and thus can no longer operate and serve the greater community… where is the freedom of choice in that, not only for the hospital but for the larger community now without a hospital? If you as a taxpayer now must fund an activity you find wrong, because you cannot choose to not pay your taxes nor how your tax money is spent, where is the freedom of choice in that?
Freedom is something we must give to others if we wish it for ourselves.
To take freedom from one to allow freedom for another, that is not true freedom. To force one against their moral grain for the benefit of another, that is not true freedom. To force one to subsidize another, that is not freedom. To use the force of law to inflict your beliefs upon the entire nation, that is not freedom. To grow the power of government, to allow it more control over my body, my conscience, my life, that is not freedom.
Folks, if you really want freedom of choice, make sure that what you work for will truly provide that. No, it won’t be easy, no it won’t be something quick to come up with, and yes we must come to accept that the choices of some may not be the same choices we would make for ourselves but those choices are theirs to make and they will receive the consequences (good or bad) of their choices. Freedom does require you to think and act self-less-ly, not selfishly. If you really want to live in world where you are free to choose in whatever you think, say, or do, make sure your efforts ensure others — especially those that stand in opposition to you — remain free as well. Anything less is not true freedom.
I’ve always found Xavier’s blog to be filled with good stuff… one of the better blogs overall out there.
Yesterday he writes about “On Keeping On Keeping On” and I have to agree with him. One reason I became an NRA Certified Instructor was to help people learn about firearms. I changed, I know others can too. It’s difficult to preach change to a large group and expect change to happen, but working one-on-one with folks you can speak directly to their needs, address their concerns. I won’t lie, I don’t bullshit; honesty is the only way to go about things. I’ll do my best to avoid politics, but there’s inheriently a political component to this. Still, by going one-on-one you can gauge the audience and tailor the message best (e.g. you can avoid politics unless asked; if they’re for sport, you can go that route; if they’re for self-defense you can go that route; etc.). If at the end of it all they’re not going to “see it my way” that’s ok… at least if they were willing to engage in the conversation, and that’s something. That they were willing to let a seed be sown, even if it doesn’t sprout today, maybe it will sometime later.
We cannot hold a grudge. We cannot let our anger be our driving force, especially if it closes us off. Not only does that make us look bad, but it won’t help bring new people into the fold. Think about it. If a sheep sees an angry dog bearing big teeth, it doesn’t matter if that angry dog is a wolf or a sheepdog — it’s still a big predator with teeth that the sheep is going to be afraid of and avoid. So you sheepdogs, think about how to win the trust of those sheep. How to better present yourself, how to better and honestly gain their trust and realize that we’re The Good Guys. And perhaps, just perhaps, be able to teach those sheep how to show some teeth as well.
So here we are, with another Interent meme.
“Think of 25 albums, CDs, LPs (if you’re over 40) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the ass, literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Optional: when you finish, tag a bunch of others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you’re it!”
Yes, the list is numbered, but only to keep track and provide easy reference. This is truly in no particular order.
So it’s more than 25… eh.
Today the family went to the 81st Annual Zilker Kite Festival.
I have wanted to attend this for some years and for some reason or other it never happened, so I was determined to attend this year. And attend we did!
We took the shuttle to Austin’s famous Zilker Park, and in a way, the shuttle was an event unto itself. The city provided free shuttles to/from the event, and they used school buses for it. This was the first time my kids got to ride a school bus (I rode them all the time when I was growing up), so now they sorta know what it’s like… minus the loud kids, bullying, and other assorted mayhem that comes with the school bus. 🙂 It brought back memories of being on the bus Safety Patrol!
After arriving at the park we went to the “build-a-kite” workshop. It was a free workshop sponsored by HEB and others and you could build a basic kite. Middle child and Youngest child opted to build a kite, and they flew just fine. The wind today was ample for kite flying, but it would die down at times and many kites would be crashing to the ground. Yesterday the winds in Austin were 25-35 MPH steady and gusty, so that would have been some very interesting kite flying weather.
We walked around, checked out many of the kites. All sorts of kites of all shapes, sizes, designs, colors, and variety. It’s almost impossible to describe or even capture on film just how cool it was to look up in the sky and see hundreds of kites flying together. It’s just something you have to experience.
We ate “fair food”, from corn dogs to sausage on a stick to snow cones to cotton candy to funnel cakes. Yes… I can’t pass up a funnel cake, tho the one we had was very oily (I suspect they didn’t let it drain enough). Oh yes, and roasted corn. Mmm. Everything was rather expensive, but all proceeds after expenses are benefiting charities and worthy causes so it’s all good. I think I’m going to have a very light salad for dinner tho. 😉
After watching many kites, flying our free kites, and walking around and seeing all there was to see, we ended up buying our own kite. A nice nylon “triangle-style” (I don’t know what the proper term is). It flew quite well, and I had a lot of fun flying it. It was tough flying tho, with so many kites in the air, so many people around, you didn’t have the total freedom to roam where and how needed to keep the kite aloft. Thus, the most often heard thing today was: *thud* “Sorry!!” “No problem!” as kites would dive down, hit someone in the head, strings tangle around you, tails whipping in your face. But no one got mad; everyone expected to get hit sooner or later. It was a day filled with laughter, smiles, and fun. Good times.
If you haven’t been to the Kite Festival, you need to try it. And do like we did, go in the morning, leave in the afternoon. The lines for the shuttle were unreal, but since we’re early birds well… we were in and out no problem.
Mötley Crüe was the epitome of rock/metal in the 80’s. They had the music, they had MTV, but most of all they had the lifestyle: sex, drugs, rock-and-roll, wine, women, and song. I’d swear you heard more about The Crüe’s off-stage exploits than their on-stage: Vince’s car wreck, Tommy Lee’s string of Hollywood wives, Nikki’s drug use, and Mick… well Mick was the recluse. Every album told a different story because of whatever their latest exploits were. You loved this band not just because of their music, but because of all they did in the name of rock. It was pure rebellion and disgusted off your parents… what more could you ask for.
I know my first exposure was during the Shout at the Devil album, but not sure if it was first via MTV or via a class party. I know I was in elementary school and I think it was an end of the year class party. Teacher said you could bring your favorite music albums to play during the party. I remember seeing it… some kid brought it, an LP (you kids go ask your parents what that is), big as day, of an all black album with nothing but an upside-down pentagram on it. How awesome could you get? 🙂 And so it went. I’ve gotten to see them live a few times and they know how to put on a show.
YouTube won’t let me embed the music video to Wild Side (one of my favorites), so instead here they are performing it live back in ’87:
As an added bonus, a recent side-project of bassist and chief songwriter is Sixx: A.M.. Their first single is “Life is Beautiful”, written about Nikki’s past heroin addiction. I really like this song.
Stuff From Hsoi 